Not So Sweet
by Winter's Holly
Summary: Oneshot:Sasu and Saku both hate VD and each other.But when they're force to spend the whole day together in handcuffs, how will they fare? Will they finally get along! Read and review! Thank you! Warning: language and lots of laughing


35 pages and 57,639 words...

There! All for you people and VD and Singles Awareness Day! There's going to be a sequel to this one-shot on March 14.

Disclaimer: Don't own, but like to control. Don't own song 'Colors'

* * *

Not So Sweet

By: Winter's Holly

It was early morning in Konohagakure no Sato, but it was busier than usual today. Was it because it was such a nice day that everyone had to celebrate? Was it because for once there was no snow? Can you figure it out yet? No? It's really quite easy and pretty obvious. The villagers were getting ready for festival for Valentine's Day, of course, which was exactly today! Everyone was excited, all except Sasuke, duh! But what was this? There was another person who wasn't exactly happy, either. Wonder who that person could be? Do you know? Why, it's Sakura!

Sakura, who was very angry at the moment, was in the Hokage's office waiting for the others to arrive. The fuming girl paced the room, muttering some offensive words now and then as the Hokage watched her. Well, practically everyone who used to be Rookie Nine was there, sweatdropping as they watched Sakura create another hole in the wall from impatience. They all stiffened when the pink-haired, short-tempered, hot-headed kunoichi stopped her pacing and faced Tsunade with an irritated expression. Marching right up to the desk, Sakura slapped a fist down on it, destroying it in the process.

"Can you just tell me what we're doing, already?!" she demanded, as her nostrils flared in rage. "When you summoned me here, I was told that it was for something rather important! So what the hell is it?!"

But Tsunade didn't answer right away which only increased her apprentice's anger. The almond-eyed woman only gazed at her broken desk, with shaking hands. "Sakura, you know how many times I have to replace this desk?" she somewhat sobbed, dropping her head hopelessly. "And this time, it wasn't me who broke it, too. You owe me a new desk AND a tree!"

Her pink brow twitched violently at the statement as her fists was clenching tighter and tighter to control the anger ready to explode. "What. Do. You. Mean?" Sakura asked through gritted teeth. "I owe you nothing. It's not my fuckin problem that your desk broke."

Tsunade lifted a brow in skepticism. "Really?" she questioned, but then shrugged. "Oh well, Shizune could get me a new one."

Sakura started to growl and her face was now a deeper shade of red. Everyone in the background was either scared or tired or bored now because this has gone on too long.

"You know, I think I can see her chakra pouring out. Can you, Chouji?" Ino whispered, so Sakura wouldn't hear. But unfortunately, the girl heard and snapped her head around and hissed at them.

The group sweatdropped once more at their friend's actions.

Hinata turned to her cousin, Neji, and whispered quietly to him. "Don't you think it's odd that Naruto-kun and Sasuke-san are late, Neji-niisan?"

The Hyuuga just shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't care. I just want to get this done and over with," he answered.

"GODAMMIT! I'M FUCKIN LEAVING!" Sakura shouted furiously, stomping towards the door as she did so. When she slammed the door opened though, the person on the other side was smashed by it. Not caring who she'd hit, Sakura just stepped on the person and walked off with fumes emanating from her. Every ninja in the building pushed themselves against the wall to avoid the demon walking down the halls.

"Ugh…my body," Naruto moaned while Shikamaru and Kiba peeled him off the floor literally. Sakura stomped on him so hard, he was hardly recognizable. Well, not really, but she really damaged him.

After straightening himself up, Naruto looked at Tsunade with a curious glance. "What's wrong with her?" he asked, getting a chair to sit in.

The Godaime shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, it's nothing," she responded, but then stared at Naruto with curiosity. "But, I thought you would know since you _are_ her teammate."

"No. I absolutely have no idea what you're saying, Tsunade-baachan," answered Naruto, not noticing the glare he was getting.

The Ino piped up. "Well, so what's wrong with her? Why is she so angry all of the sudden?"

"Do you think it's that time of the month?" Kiba muttered to Naruto who shook his head. All of the women in the room instantly glared menacingly at the dog boy who shrank in fear.

"What time of the month?" Lee asked out of nowhere.

_Swoosh!_

The room was quiet as the audience stared wide-eyed at the green spandex-wearing dude who knew not of _that _dreaded time for girls.

_'He doesn't know?'_

_'Wow, I pity him.'_

_'He really doesn't get that much girls, does he?'_

_'Man, bushy brows is stuuuupid!'_

And the lists of thoughts went on and on until Lee got irritated and spoke clearly and loudly. "Can somebody please explain to me what it is that you are talking about?"

"Lee, why don't you leave the room?" Tsunade suggested. "You're not supposed to be here anyway. Aren't you supposed to be helping with the preparations?"

"Yes, but I needed to ask you something, but now I forgot what it was. Hmm, what was it?" he said to himself.

Tenten started chuckling nervously as she pushed Lee out the door with Neji following her. "Um…I'll see ya later, Tsunade-sama, guys."

"Yeah!"

"Ugh!"

"Okay! Bye, Tenten!"

"Alright! See ya later!"

Then Gai's team left the room with only Team 10, Team 8, and Naruto there. When it was silent again, they all faced Tsunade with anticipation.

"What the hell do you guys want?" The woman demanded rudely.

"Hey, Ino, tell about what happen later on! Kay, bye!" Tenten suddenly popped her head in and left immediately after she said what she wanted.

After a moment of silence, Naruto spoke, "Um…okay, that was weird." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Ahem! Ino, I want you to be in charge of finishing the stage with Naruto and Hinata," Tsunade ordered, but then the blond girl started to argue back.

"Demo! Why do I have to work with the idiot?! He'll only ruin the stage! Why doesn't he just help with the food stands, Tsunade-sama," Ino suggested.

Tsunade thought about for a minute or so and responded with a smirk. "Okay then. Ino—you, Hinata, and Shikamaru will work on the stage. Chouji will work with Kiba to finish the food stands."

"Alright! Food!" food boy cheered.

"Shino, I want you and Neji to check the securities. Tell him when you see him. And if you also manage to see Tenten and Lee—either of you—I want you to tell them that they are to work on the game stands. We need to finish up the last minute problems. Is that understood? " asked the Godaime.

"Hai!" the gang answered.

"You're dismissed! Remember, have fun while you're at it! Valentine's Day is today!" she shouted.

When Naruto was exiting the door as well with the others, Tsunade called him back and told him to close the door. Doing as he was told, Naruto went back to the desk.

"Naaniiiii? Tsunade-baachan?" the boy whined, only to get hit by a large thick book by Tsunade herself.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" she screamed as a vein popped from her head.

Naruto rubbed the reddening spot on his cheek as he muttered, "Well, it's true." But then he took it back when he felt a murderous aura coming from the woman. "So what do you want?"

"Hold for a second. Shizune!"

The door slammed opened to reveal Shizune and Tonton the little piggy. "Hai!"

"Can you summon Kakashi here for me?" requested Tsunade while Shizune nodded and left.

"Why?" Naruto asked curiously, patting his clothes to get rid of the dust.

The woman waited until she had his absolutely attention before continuing her explanation. "Well, I need Kakashi to tell Sasuke and Sakura their mission while I'm telling you yours. While I'm at it, tell me why Uchiha didn't show for the meeting."

"Oh, that. He said—Ahem!" Naruto cleared his throat before making a poor expression of what Sasuke looked like as he said this. " 'I don't have time for something as trivial as this. Now get out of my face, dobe!'"

"He said that, did he?" she muttered, then smirked devilishly making Naruto suspicious. "I'm going to tell you your mission, Naruto. And don't worry, you're going to like this one."

Naruto lifted his brows suspicious and curious at the same time. He grinned. "I'm listening."

-o0o-

An angry kunoichi stomped her way to the bridge to hear the briefing on the mission her team was getting. _'Godammit! I really hate this month, this weather, these people, and this stupid freakin day! And ARGH!' _Sakura thought angrily, not noticing that she already made it to the bridge. So she bumped into the other person there, falling flat on her bum! Haha!

"OW! Damn it, I hate this day!" she screamed, standing up. While doing so, she was going to chew the person out for bumping into her (technically it was her fault for not paying attention. But who's keeping track!).

Sakura took a deep breath to yell at the person, but stopped when she knew who that person was. She grimaced and rolled her eyes. "Oh, it's you," she scoffed coldly as she sat on the opposite of the bridge with her back facing the guy. "You're not worth it."

Sasuke twitched at her remark as he glared at the girl's back. Earlier, he was training in the woods, but then was told to meet at the bridge for a meeting. Now he's stuck with this angry kunoichi. There goes his nice day.

Well, if you want to know why they aren't on good terms, here's the background of the story. Sakura's sixteen, Naruto's sixteen, too, and Sasuke's the only one who's seventeen, considering he's a year older than the both of them. So, now that we got their ages straight, let's rewind to six months back in time, making that…January…December…incoherent words…Oh yeah! That would make it August, right?! Yeah! So, you know you got the whole big war and all that good stuff, right? Well, it just so happens that Naruto kills the gay snake dude and the geek while Sasuke kills his girly, bi, whatever brother and Kakashi the blue, fish guy. They all got injured and came back (audience: YEAH!). When Sakura found out, she freaked! I mean she goes all berserko on everybody (audience: awww!)! When Tsunade told her to operate on the chicken hair, the girl refused. Then Tsunade threatened her that if she didn't she'll get her ninja license revoked. So, sighing in defeat, she did the operation, but torture the living shit out of the poor guy ('he deserves it for leaving anyway' she explains). So ever since then, chicken boy and flower girl were down each other's throat (not literally). Okay, the end! Well not really, you still have the other one and ARGH! Just keep on reading!

"Grr! Where the fuck is the blond (no offense) and the perv!" Sakura screamed so loud that all the birds in the area flew off in fright.

"Could you shut the hell up? You're destroying my eardrums," Sasuke said coldly, glaring at the girl while he was at it.

"Tch! I don't have to shut up for you, asshole!" She retorted, now standing while Sasuke did the same.

"You wanna say that to my face, you freak!" the Uchiha growled back.

"How 'bout I just punch you in the face so I can get the point across better!" Sakura shouted, standing on her tiptoes while grabbing the collar of his shirt even though she was pretty small herself.

Sasuke, who seemed much more threatening due to his height, grabbed the front of Sakura's shirt and lifted her off the ground (he's like a head taller than she is, so she's freakin short). "You know, you're lucky you're a woman or I would've killed ya already!"

"Then do it already! Maybe you're just a chicken shit!"

_Crack!_

Ouch! And that people is the sound of Uchiha Sasuke's pride crumbling to tiny shards disappearing into the wind. "That's it! You're going down, HARUNO!"

"BRING IT UCHIHA!"

-o0o-

From there the two kept on arguing and wrestling on the bridge, bringing up new challenges and so forth. Then as other people kept on passing cautiously, a couple stood and watched them fight. Irritated, both Sasuke and Sakura turned to glare murderously in the middle of their marker drawing fight. But, it couldn't be help, though. They were in an awkward position which none hadn't even notice yet. Besides, their clothes being ripped to pieces and revealing (Sakura's anyway—Sasuke has long arms, remember), they had doodles all over their used to be clean flesh. Sakura was straddling Sasuke with her left hand clamp on his right wrist which had the marker in it. On Sasuke's part, he was underneath with her right wrist clamped in his as he was in the middle of biting of her left arm while Sakura had a piece of Sasuke shirt dangling from her mouth.

"What are you looking at?!" the two shouted at the same time, but it was either muffled by the flesh or cloth.

Scared, the couple ran off far, far away, leaving a trail of dust for the two to cough in.

_Poof! _

_Poof!_

Two figures were coming out of the smoke—one on Sasuke's right which he had to bend down more to see because of Sakura's breasts and the other on Sakura's left. She had to raise her head higher due to Sasuke pointy hair, doing so only pushed her breasts farther into Sasuke's face.

"Tch! Would you move your chest away from my face, Haruno?! I'm afraid they're ruining my eyesight!" Sasuke retorted sarcastically.

"Well, move your head, you bastard! I can't see a thing over their pointy-ness!" Sakura retorted back.

"They are NOT pointy! They're spiky! Get it right, Stupid!"

"Same diff! Now move your fat head!"

"My head's not fat! Your forehead's bigger than mine!"

"No, it's not! I grew into you idiot!"

"Oh yeah?! At least my hair's isn't a freakish color!"

"Well, my hair doesn't look like a chicken's ass!"

"What?!"

"That's right! You heard me!"

Outraged, Sasuke flipped their position over so that he was on top and dominated. "Well, you're—,"

"AHEM!"

Sasuke and Sakura both snapped their heads in the direction they heard it come from, which was in front of them. Sakura had to crane her neck back in order to see since she couldn't get up at the moment.

"Kakashi!" Sasuke said the same Sakura shouted, "Sensei!"

Naruto was also beside Kakashi with a sly grin on his face as he snickered.

"Well, aren't you guys having fun?" Kakashi said after clearing his throat. The two teens frowned at his comment, then he pointed at them.

They looked down and blushed instantly when Sakura's bra was unclipped in front, nearly showing her whole upper body for the whole entire world to see. Sakura squeaked and Sasuke immediately jumped up off of her and turned the other way.

"Sasuke, why don't you give Sakura your shirt to cover her up," Kakashi suggested. "Your shirt isn't that much ripped up compared to hers. Besides, I don't think Sakura would want to borrow Naruto's ramen-smelling jacket."

"HEY!"

Sasuke sighed and took off his shirt. "Fine, here."

The girl muttered a soft 'thanks' before slipping into his large shirt. And it was large. For Sasuke, the sleeves only reached his elbows. But for Sakura, it was in the middle of her forearm and the collar fell off one side of her shoulder while the bottom of the shirt reached the middle of her legs.

"Your shirt's really big, Sasuke," Sakura said absentmindedly trying to keep the shirt up, not noticing the wide-eyed looks she was getting. When she was done, they were stilling staring at her. "Nani? Is there something wrong with me?" She turned in all kinds of directions to see if anything out of place, but that only made the guys blushed to see how innocent to looked at the moment. "Well?"

Naruto shook his head to clear of the thoughts he was thinking just now (bad Naruto! You have Hinata, stupid!). "There's nothing wrong, Sakura-chan. It's just that that was the first time we heard you called Sasuke by his first name in a really long time."

Her pink brows furrowed. "Really? I said that?" she said, then shrugged nonchalantly. "Hmm, didn't notice. Oh, well. So what do you want Kakashi-sensei?"

"Um…why don't you and Sasuke go get dressed and meet us back here. We'll wait," he answered. "Sasuke, go with her."

"Hai," the teen answered obediently and placed his hand on Sakura's elbow to lead the way which Naruto and Kakashi noticed and thought unusual.

"Oh and Sasuke and Sakura?" Kakashi called out, making the teens stop in their tracks. "Wear your kimonos, alright?"

"Why?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Just do it! Now, go on! Get!" he shouted. When they were out of sight, he sighed tiredly. "Those two are wearing me out more than when you and Sasuke fought, Naruto."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Naruto agreed. "They're worse than me when they're together in the same room. You could just feel the tension building up everytime. I hope the old granny's plan works or I'll just kill myself to save from the agony."

"No kidding," Kakashi sighed.

-o0o-

The walk to her house was as quiet as ever. They never spoke everytime he had to walk her home. It was always too awkward and strange if they did. It was brought up something they avoided talking about. It was like stepping in a mine field ready to explode. When they arrived at the house, Sakura unlocked the door and as she walked through she gave Sasuke his shirt back.

"Come on," she ordered, leaving the door open so he can come in. But he didn't. He just stared at her.

"What?" he said, suddenly sounding like Naruto.

"I said come in, dummy," she said aggravated.

Sasuke glared at her. "I know you did, but for what?"

The girl rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Duh! I kind of need someone to help me put on the obi unless you don't know how. That's fine. You could just leave and stay off my property."

"Fine, fine," the boy grunted. "I'll help, but just this once!"

Sakura chuckled and Sasuke closed the door and sat on the couch. "Wait here! I'll call you when I need your help."

"Hn," he responded.

The girl hopped up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door shut. She took a shower to clean off all the marker doodles made by the fight earlier. Afterwards, strolling to her closet and grabbing a chair on the way, Sakura moved so that she was able to get a black box on the highest shelf. Jumping down, she went back into the bedroom and placed the box gently on the mattress. When she opened it, a white silky cloth covered the kimono, protecting it from the dust. After removing the cloth, a white under kimono was on top along with the tabi. Taking the tabi, Sakura wore them first so she wouldn't have the trouble of wearing them later. As she took off her clothes, she kept the kunai holster on just in case something happens. After she had put on the under kimono, Sakura gently took the main kimono and smiled. It was a silvery-sky blue color that had white lilies in the middle, on the bottom, and in the corners of the sleeves as it hangs. A dark blue obi and a flower-shaped pendant for the kimono came with it.

"Uchiha, can you help me now?!" she yelled to the person sitting downstairs.

There was no response, but she heard him coming up the stairs. Quickly putting on the outfit, Sakura fix it so it was in the right place. A knock was heard on the door as she gave permission to enter.

Sasuke stopped to observe his teammate. He was used to her wearing red kimonos that he just kept on staring at her. The color looked lovely against her skin as it blended together. Blue was much more prettier on her than red in his opinion. It brought out her eyes more.

"Hellooo?" Sakura waved her hand in front of Sasuke's face for a minute now and he wasn't even paying attention until the little breeze her hand was making annoyed him.

Sasuke swatted her hand away. "What do you want?"

The kunoichi crossed her arms and lifted a brow. "While you were gawking at me the whole time, I decided to put the obi on myself. No thanks to you, stupid!"

"I wasn't gawking! Who'd want to gawk at you anyway!" he said and turned away, embarrassed that he was caught. "If you're done, then let's go to my house."

"No way! Go by yourself! I don't even want to step in that gloomy house of yours!" she refused flatly. "Everytime I go there, it's always cold!"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. I'll meet ya at the bridge." Then he disappeared in a _poof! _

Before leaving herself, Sakura grabbed her purse and white sash or scarf or whatever it was called.

-o0o-

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" screamed Naruto jovially as he was already dressed in his own kimono. Of course the top would be orange and the pants black while inside the top was blue. Kakashi didn't dress up for some odd reason. Maybe he was lazy.

"Whoa! I never seen you wear blue before, Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed. "It looks good on you!"

"It certainly does look better than all the red you were always wearing," Kakashi agreed.

"Thanks," she said wryly. "Where's the dodo?"

"I'm over here, you blind bookworm!" Sasuke's voice came from behind her as she noticed he was leaning on a tree. "Geez! Even I get here faster than you when you dressed first." Sasuke was navy blue top, gray pants, and a black haori that had the Uchiha crest on his back.

Sakura clicked her tongue and marched up to him, poking a finger hard into his chest. It really hurt since she had insane super strength. "Well, I liked to see you try and walk in these shoes and a kimono like mine where you have absolutely no leg room whatsoever! You stupid baka!"

Right when Sasuke grabbed her right hand with his left, a silver handcuff clamped around their wrists. Blinking, the two turned to look at their teammate and sensei, confused and angry.

"What the hell is this?" Sasuke questioned quietly. That's usually not a good sign as Sakura tried to back away from the raging shinobi.

"Yeah! What's up with the cuffs?!" Sakura demanded while trying to get the cuffs off. "W-what?! I can't get them off! Uchiha, can you?! OW! That hurt, damn it!"

She smacked his hard when he yanked both of their hands to perform a fire jutsu. "What did you forget we had our hands cuffed or something?!"

"Well, yeah! Do you think I'm used to being attached to a person before, you witch!" he screamed back, clutching his head.

"Tch, tch, tch! This is why you two are handcuffed together," Kakashi said, interrupting their argument. "You two fight like dogs and cats. And Sakura stop trying to break the thing. It won't work."

"Huh? Why not?" she demanded. "What's the meaning of this?"

The man leaned on one foot while scratching his head, thinking of a way to explain it without the other two freaking out. "Well, since you're always fighting, Tsunade thought it was a good idea if you two spent time together. And to make sure you didn't run away, she made this handcuff that has her chakra in it so that it can be broken by strength or melted by fire. All you have to do is spend one day together without fighting."

_The leaves blow by swiftly…_

"NANI?!"

"SONNA!"

-o0o-

"ARGH! Cursed this evil day! And the guy it was named after!" Sakura cursed, throwing her arms to the sky, bringing Sasuke's arm along, too.

"OUCH! GODAMMIT HARUNO! KNOCK IT OFF!" Sasuke raged while pulling his cuffed wrist down, hurting Sakura's. He towered over her as he screamed his head off more.

"WELL, THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED IF WEREN'T FOR YOU! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" Sakura shouted back, shoving her head against his.

Sasuke pushed back just as hard. "MY FAULT?! _MY FAULT?!"_

"YES! YOUR FAULT! ARE YOU DEAF?!"

"THEN, IT'S YOUR FAULT, TOO! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO STARTED THIS WHOLE FUCKIN THING!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TO!"

"**_DID NOT!_**"

"**_DID TO!_**"

In all the stations the gang was placed, they could all hear the argument taking place. In fact, every single villager—men, women, children, old people, even fetuses, and other villages —heard them! Oh woes are they!

-o0o-

"Nee, Shikamaru-kun, Ino-chan, do you think Sakura-chan and Sasuke-san will get along?" Hinata asked nervously, shivered from the intensity she felt.

"I-I don't Hinata-chan," Ino stuttered also scared.

"Let's not think about it and finish this up. We're almost done now," Shikamaru said to distract them.

"Okay."

-o0o-

Meanwhile with Chouji and Kiba

"HOLY SHIT!" Kiba yelled. "Did you hear that, fat dude?!"

"Yeah!" Chouji answered, but then realized what Kiba had just called him and shouted, "I'M NOT FAT!"

"Oh, sorry!" he chuckled nervously. Who'd want to mess with a fat dude anyhow?

-o0o-

"Tenten, was that Sakura-san and Sasuke-san we heard just now?" Lee wondered.

The bun-haired girl nodded. "Definitely. Only they could screamed that loud."

Suddenly Lee gasped. "Do you think Sakura-san's in danger?! I must go help her or—!"

"Can it!" Tenten threw a softball right in his mouth to shut him up. "Geez! You're an idiot, sometimes!"

-o0o-

With Neji and Shino

"Is it them?" Neji muttered while checking the gates.

"Hn," Shino answered. "They're noisy."

"Hn," Neji responded back (exciting, isn't it?). "We're done."

"Let's go then."

One word: W.O.W.

-o0o-

It was now noon, almost time for the festival to start as the streets grew busier and busier. Villagers from all over the five nations travel to Konoha to this year's Valentine's Day festival. It was always an exhilarating time when Konoha host a festival. They always mostly have the best kind of decorations. Some people travel here for the food, the games or to see the talent show. No matter what the event, Konoha always has the best of all kinds.

Everyone was gathering at the Hokage tower to hear the announcement that the Godaime was about to make. All of the high ranking shinobi met on the roof while some watched from other rooftops. Sasuke and Sakura stood among the high ranks of shinobi with the others. Sakura gazed all around her and Sasuke, amazed by the amount of people here today.

"Look at all the people here, Uchiha," she said, still awe by the amount. "I never seen this many people here before just for Valentine's Day. Have you?"

"No. This is the first time I've seen this many people, too," Sasuke said in return.

Then he felt a nudge on his side and saw Naruto telling him to be quiet. The crowd had quieted down when the arrival of the Hokage came. Tsunade gazed around until she spotted Sasuke and Sakura in the front, frowning and looking away from each other. She smirked, enjoying their expressions. Clearing her throat and spreading her arms wide open, she welcomed the crowd.

"Welcome, everyone, to Konoha's Valentine's Festival. I hope you're all excited because I am!" she exclaimed with a happy smile on her face. "Our people have created all kinds of activities for both adults and children to enjoy! Not only are we celebrating this day, but this festival also promotes friendship with our neighboring countries! We had this festival made so that everyone could enjoy themselves and get along and not fight," as she said this, she eyed a certain couple and caught their eyes. She smirked, making them frown. "As I have said before, there are booths for everyone to have fun at. There is also a new addition to the festival as well. At the arena, it will be used for talent shows and such. And at the end of the day, performances will be held by you people in the crowd. For everyone to see you perform tonight, please sign your name on the sign-up sheet at the arena! Thank you and let the fun begin!"

The crowd cheered and roared loudly and began to move to the booths and stands to have some fun. While the crowd was depleting, Sasuke and Sakura stood where they were, wanting to speak to Tsunade urgently.

"Hey, you two!" Tsunade called out. "Why aren't you down there? You should be having fun, instead of standing here like dodos!"

"Shishou! What the hell's up with this?!" Sakura held up their cuffed hands for emphasis. "Is this what you call fun?!"

"Oh, that? Don't worry it'll disappear if you two could get along," she stated, but quickly noting her student's face, she said, "And lying won't work, Sakura. So don't even try it. You really have to get along or you'll be stuck like this forever!"

"NANI!" Sasuke shouted. "There's no way I want to be stuck with this weirdo forever!"

Sakura's eyes twitched as she faced the Uchiha. "Like you're one to talk! At least I'm not an emo like you!"

"I'm not emo!"

"Tell that your dark clothes!"

"AHEM!"

The two snapped their heads at Hokage with their hands ready to kill each other. Again.

"Now that I've got your attention, you might as well face the facts," the Godaime stated. "If you don't start behaving, then I'll put the both of you on probation. Good day to you both." The woman left without another word, leaving the two eyes wide and mouth gaping like a fish.

_'I'm doomed,' _they thought miserably.

-o0o-

"You know, I pity Sasuke and Sakura," Tenten spoke. "Aren't they the only ones in our group who aren't a couple, yet?"

"Yeah. Those two are so…ARGH!" Ino growled. "I mean I know Sakura's stubborn, but I didn't know that she was _this _stubborn!"

"I know what you mean," Naruto piped in. "Sasuke is the dumbest 'prodigy' I know! He's so freakin dense! Denser than dense! Hell, he gives 'dense' a new meaning!"

Then Neji said, "I bet he doesn't even know he likes her."

"I agree," Hinata sighed sadly. "Those two will never realized how much like each other."

Ino then started to snickered.

"Oh, man. Don't tell you're going…."Shikamaru groaned, annoyed at his girlfriend's plan. "It's their problem. We can't interfere. If we do, then we'll get in trouble with Tsunade."

"But, Shika-kun!" she whined.

"Ino, he's right. If we do anything to help those two, Tsunade'll punish us," Tenten warned.

The girl sighed. "Fine. But that's no fun, you know."

-o0o-

Meanwhile Sasuke was dragging Sakura through the crowd, which only made it difficult for her considering she was wearing heels. The girl kept on bumping into everybody and had to yell over the crowd to apologize.

"Hey, Uchiha!" she shouted loudly, gasping for air. "C-could you slow down a bit?! I'm falling all over the place! You ass!"

Sasuke stopped abruptly causing Sakura to bump into his back.

"Hey, I only said slow down not stop, idiot!" she grumbled. When Sasuke didn't answer, she peered over his shoulder to see that they were at a food stand. "Yeah, food! I'm starving!"

"What do you want to eat?" Sasuke asked.

She lifted a brow at his question. "Hmm? You paying?" He nodded. She smirked and took a deep breath. "I want ten orders of takoyaki, twenty oshiruko, fifteen dango, five bottles of sake, and…" she looked at Sasuke's face to see it paled even more and busted up laughing. "I-I'm just kidding! You should've seen your face, Sasuke! It was priceless!"

A blush appeared on his face as he turned away, grunting. "So do you want to eat or not?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Catching her breath, she responded, "Hai, hai! I'll just have whatever you're having."

"Fine." Then he looked at the girl in charge of the stall. "Just two bags of takoyaki." Sasuke took the bags given to him and paid. "Keep the change."

"Thank you, sir. Have a nice evening and enjoy the festival!" she waved them goodbye.

Turning to Sakura, he handed her a bag while opening his. But he couldn't because Sakura was yanking his hand back to open hers. He yanked his hand, but she yanked back. They both glared at each other and growled.

"I'm trying to open mine here, Bucko!" she growled louder. "Ever heard of 'ladies first'?!"

"Yeah, but I don't consider you a lady, let alone a woman!" he shouted.

"How dare you?! Take that back!"

"NO!"

"AH! GO TO HELL!"

"LADIES FIRST!"

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID I WASN'T A LADY! FOR ALL YOU KNOW I COULD BE A MAN!"

That stopped Sasuke for a moment there as he stared at her body shivering.

Sakura twitched. "I can't believe you actually think that I'm a man! God, you're so stupid for an Uchiha!" Then she started to drag Sasuke out of the crowd with her for they were starting to attract attention. When they got to the woods, Sakura screamed to let out her anger and sat down bringing Sasuke along. Doing so, especially with their hands handcuffed, his face fell into her lap. Instantly she pushed him off, accidentally hitting his head on the tree trunk nearby, knocking him unconscious.

"Oh, shit!" she swore. "Hey, hey! Uchiha! Wake up! Oh, great! Just FUCKIN great! You're so smart Sakura!"

Gently, she moved the unconscious teen's head so that it was on her lap. She made sure that he was lying on his right side so that her hand was on the grass instead of wrapped around Sasuke. Seeing blood flowing, Sakura quickly gathered chakra into her left hand and healed his head. _'Oh, man. He's going to kill me for this.' _Looking down, she observed his peaceful-looking face. Playing with his hair, she stroked his face feeling sad all of a sudden. _'Stupid Sakura! Don't think about **that**!' _she sighed, looking at the sun through the leaves as the shadows played across her face, warming it. _'I should just take a little nap while I'm waiting…'_

_Three and a Half Hours Later…_

_'Ow…my head freakin hurts like hell,' _Sasuke thought groggily as he strained to opened his eyes. _'Where the hell did this pillow come from? I don't care. It's soft…' _

He suddenly snapped his eyes opened when he noticed he wasn't in his house. He turned his head slowly when he heard a soft moan above. _'Please, tell me I didn't…But I don't remember getting drunk yet!' _Swallowing the lump in his throat, he turned the last few angles to see Sakura sleeping.

_'Sakura? But how? Whe—? Oh, well,' _he sighed, getting up slowly so Sakura wouldn't wake up. Moving their cuffed hands, so that Sakura's right arm was across her body and his on her back, Sasuke sat Sakura on his lap so she could be comfortable while she slept (he's still nice even though they fight). Noticing the bags he bought earlier, Sasuke grabbed one and finally opened it. _'Haha! Finally, food!' _

"Sasuke," she whispered, surprising Sasuke himself. "…_Go to hell."_

Sasuke's ego immediately was split into two as his body shook in anger and embarrassment for even believing she was dreaming about something nice of him. _'This woman…!'_

The girl slowly regained consciousness while opening her eyes and yawned loudly without any manners whatsoever. "_Wha…ti…mizit_?" she stretched and scratched the back of her head, bringing Sasuke's arm along for the ride.

"It's about four-thirty now, you pig," the shinobi responded absentmindedly.

Sakura twitched and pouted her lips. "I am most certainly not a pig! That's Ino's job!" But right when she said that, a loud disturbing rumbling sound was heard coming her tummy!

Lifting a dark brow in disbelief, Sasuke spoke, "You were saying?"

Giving an angry, twitchy laugh, Sakura pinched Sasuke's cheeks while pulling it out from the bones. "Shut up! I'm just hungry!"

"Okay! OW! STOP IT! IT HURTS, YOU BITCH!" he screamed, while taking her hands away from his precious face. When he looked at her expression, her eyes went wide-eyed white and mouth shaped into an 'O'.

She gasped, pretending to be hurt. "Sasuke, how could you say something so mean?!" Then she gave him the teary, puppy eye look which him nervous and back up a little. But since Sasuke was leaning against a tree, there was little room he could go when Sakura moved her face closer to his. When her face was barely inches from his, Sakura instantly moved to his neck and bit him as hard as she could. Hard.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

Sakura gave a devilish smirk and started snickering at Sasuke's pain. But, soon the snicker turned into a roar of evil, maniacal laughter as Sakura threw her head back.

The Uchiha growled, glaring at the kunoichi as he clutched his now red neck (HAHA!). "What the fuck was that for, you wench?!"

Suddenly, Sakura gave Sasuke the deadliest glare he's ever seen. "You called me a bitch, you bastard," she answered ominously.

Sasuke rolled his yes in annoyance. "Tch! You're lucky I didn't call you a hussy!" he replied coldly, looking at her straight in the eye as if challenging her.

Sakura felt her blood boiled to a dangerous level when he said that. You can literally see the steam coming out of her ears. "Well, if you did, you would've die already and not realize it! Then, you'd be reunited with your asshole of a brother! I bet you guys would get along just dandy!"

"He's dead, so I don't care about that freak," Sasuke retorted. "Just get off of me. You're making my legs go numb."

_'The nerve of this guy! I swear I'll kill 'im!' _she thought furiously. _'If it's the last thing I do! And besides I'm not even sitting on him! God, he's stupid!'_

But then she blinked, noticing that Sasuke looked shorter to her. "Hey, did you shrink or something? How come I have to look down to talk to you?"

Sasuke groaned in irritation and from the oncoming headache he was about to have. "Are you feeling comfy?" he asked sickeningly sweet. "Your ass doesn't hurt, does it?"

The girl frowned in confusion. "Yeah, I'm feeling pretty comfortable," she answered, still not catching on. "Now that you mention it, the grass here doesn't make my butt go numb like it usually does. Why?"

Sasuke slapped his cuffed hand to his forehead in embarrassment for Sakura. _'Could she get anymore dense?' _he wondered. _'If she could, I'm going to crawl into a hole and die.'_

"And why do you think that, Haruno?" he asked, slightly irked by Sakura's momentary ditzyness.

The girl yanked their hand back to place her index finger on her chin with the other hand under the elbow to think. "Hmm…because the grass loves me and decided to be foofier!" she grinned sheepishly as she answered so very like a child.

I'm betting you guys could all see Sasuke's expression right now, can't you? This is what it looks like: TT; And his thoughts are like this: ……………..; Poor guy's suffering from a massive migraine tonight !

"NO," he answered flatly after a moment of silence and blowing leaves. "How 'bout you look down to see what you're actually sitting on, and then you'll know what I mean when I said you're making my legs go numb."

So she did. And what did she do? She smiled, of course!

"Oh, well! I was close!" Sakura answered happily. "You make a good couch! Hand me that bag over there! I'm starving!"

The poor guy gave up and complied. _'I'll never, ever come to understand the workings of this woman's mind even if I live forever.'_

And so Sakura ate her 'lunch' (if you could even call takoyaki lunch) and jumped up, pulling Sasuke along. Sasuke's being tortured a lot in this story since Sakura is so hyper and active! Scary, she reminds me of Naruto!

_'Godammit! Is she a freakin robot or something?! It's like she's recharge everytime we're up and moving!' _Sasuke thought distractingly as Sakura dragged him back to the festival. He stared into the sky, now starting to wish he was up there with the clouds. Does that sound familiar or what? He shook his head, free of the thoughts. _'I gotta stop hanging around Shikamaru.'_

The sun was slowly started to get darker, giving the sky beautiful shade of pinks, purples, and blues. Sakura, for the past three hours, dragged Sasuke all over the place. She made him play at the game booths. And at the goldfish stand, he actually got her one when not one person could. Maybe he's been secretly practicing at home? Or maybe it's some weird fetish or something? Oh, well! He caught her a fish, we should celebrate! Yeah, Sasuke!

-o0o-

The village lit up brightly in different colored lights, making even the brightest star dim. By this time, it was completely dark and the crowds bigger. Everyone was having the best time; the girls giving chocolate to the boy they admire most. Ah! Young love! Well, actually there was one couple (could we even call them that?!) who wasn't happy with each other: Sasuke and Sakura.

The two of them yet again got into another fight and this time it was over tomatoes and ketchup and being forced on where to go. Sweatdrop?

_Flashbackie!_

_Well, Sasuke started to get hungry again, so he dragged them to the opposite direction that Sakura wanted to go. She pulled back, saying she wanted to go that way. So, he got angry and said that she already dragged him over the crowded streets, so he was going to do the same to her._

_"But, I want to go that way, Uchiha!" Sakura whined, yanking back._

_"Dammit, woman! I'm a man and I need my food right now! So if you'll excuse me, we'll be going this way!" he yelled back. _

_"NO!" she screamed._

_"YES!"_

_"NO!"_

_"YES, GODAMMIT!"_

_"HELL NO!"_

_"LOOK, HARUNO! YOU'VE BEEN DRAGGING MY ASS ALL OVER THE FUCKING PLACE! JUST THIS ONCE I WANT TO GO SOMEWHERE I WANT TO GO! AND THAT'S WHERE THE FOOD IS! IS THAT ALRIGHT?!" Sasuke took a deep breath as he tried to control his anger. Sakura was quiet for once. There were murmurs all around them as while people stared curiously at them._

_"Poor boy. To be ordered around like that…"_

_"Oh! How rude! Yelling at a girl on Valentine's Day!"_

_"Mommy, that man scares me and so does the lady with the big forehead!"_

_Twitch and Crack!_

_Hiss!_

_"Ahhh!"_

_"Come on, let's get out of here!"_

_"Don't look them in the eyes or it'll melt you!"_

_The two ninjas who were famed throughout the land to be two of the strongest in Konoha never felt so embarrassed and furious in their lives. Sure, when they had a mission together, they made a great team. But when it came to their normal daily lives, they just plain suck!_

_Not being able to take the tension anymore, Sasuke took a deep breath and glared at the nosy crowds. "What the hell are you looking at?! Go back to whatever you doing!"_

_Of course, nobody wants to see more of the angry Uchiha, so they went back to their business. Sighing, Sasuke raked through his dark hair in frustration. "Man, these people…" he growled. Sakura just stared at Sasuke until it got on his nerves. "Stop gawking, Haruno. It's rude."_

_Sakura gave a tired shake of her head and chuckled. Looking up, she smiled warmly at him that would make any man blush. It was a good thing that Sasuke was good at hiding it. "Let's just go eat."_

_His brows knitted in confusion, but he agreed. "Uh…sure."_

_And so, they came to sit under a tent as they ordered their food. While waiting, Sasuke gazed at their handcuffed hands intently. Though they would fight constantly, he actually liked it. Before, Sakura would act like he never existed. He didn't realize how much it bothered him until he saw Sakura talking to Hyuuga Neji. They were only talking, but when she laughed it made him feel something he didn't expect to feel: jealousy._

_When she started to talk to him a bit more, he just couldn't seem to have a normal conversation with. It would start out as something trivial, but then turn into something they would fight over. It was all rather silly, but he actually had fun fighting with her. It gave him the chance to get to know the real Sakura, the one side she never showed him. Even though he denies it, he liked spending time with her; even though most of the time they would fight. But he doesn't mind, as long as she was beside him, he was happy._

_"ke…Sasuke?" Sakura called out. Sasuke blinked as he caught her waving hand. She pulled it back, blushing a bit. "You spaced out for a moment there, Sasuke. Our food's here."_

_Sasuke frowned. "Would you stop doing that? It's annoying," he was saying while putting a lot more tomatoes in his udon._

_Sakura lifted a brow, confused. "Doing what?" She took some ketchup and put tons into her chicken and fries (let's pretend they have it in Konoha)!_

_"Switching between my names. Either you call me Sasuke or Uchiha, not both. Got that?" he said, putting more tomatoes in._

_Sakura, didn't actually listen to what he said earlier because all that tomato was bugging her. "Um…dude? Do you have enough tomatoes in there? It looks like your bowl's going to flood from too many tomatoes."_

_"What? I always eat this much tomatoes," he replied nonchalantly, finding nothing wrong with what he was doing. "Besides, tomatoes are much better than _that!"

_She glared at him and then at his tomato-filled bowl and back again. "There is nothing wrong with ketchup compared to your tomato, alright?"_

_The boy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but tomato are healthier than sweetened ketchup, Haruno." He was about to take a bite out of his food when a pair of chopsticks came in and stole one of his tomatoes. "What the…?"_

_Sasuke looked up to see Sakura chewing, and when she was done she smirked at him. "It only tastes better since you got the soup, Uchiha."_

_"Yeah, and it's still good by itself."_

_"And so does ketchup!" (um…who does that? Eating ketchup by itself, I mean.)_

_Sasuke grimaced. "You seriously eat ketchup by itself?"_

_The girl shook her head. "No, but I did once when Ino dared me to eat the whole bottle of it."_

_Sasuke looked at her as if she was crazy. "And how did that taste?"_

_Sakura shrugged her shoulders uncaringly. "It wasn't that bad, but it made me sick a couple days later that I couldn't eat anything that had ketchup or related to tomatoes."_

_"I still say tomatoes better," he said, taking a bite._

_"Ugh! I don't even know how you could eat so many of it! It's gross!" she reprimanded._

_"No, it's not! Ketchup's nastier!"_

_"Nah-uh!"_

_"Yah-huh!"_

_"Nah-uh!"_

_"Yah-huh!"_

_"NAH-UH!"_

_"YAH-HUH!"_

_"TOMATOES CAN DIE!"_

_"WELL, KETCHUP CAN DIE AND ALL OF ITS LITTLE MINIONS!"_

_"I HOPE ALL OF YOUR TOMATOES WILL ROT AND GROW MOLD!"_

_"THEN THAT MEANS YOU CAN'T MAKE ANYMORE OF YOUR SICK ASS KETCHUP!"_

_Sakura gasped at the statement. "That's not true…"_

_Sasuke snickered at her pain. "Yep, and without tomatoes, your ketchup wouldn't have been invented at all! So there! Tomatoes are better!"_

_"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"_

_"TAKE THAT, KETCHUP LOVER!"_

_The Haruno glared at the older teen and yelled, "I HATE YOU!"_

_"I HATE YOU MORE!"_

_"DO NOT!"_

_"DO TO!"_

_"DO NOT!"_

_**"DO TO!" **Sasuke shouted so loud that it made Sakura quiet and flinch a bit._

_"Do you really hate me that much then?" she asked quietly._

_End Flashiback!_

And that is how they ended up on a tree, looking anywhere but each other. Sasuke tried to talked to her once or twice but gave up when she refused to listen. So now, they just kept quiet and ignored each other until the silence was starting to get to Sakura. She started fidgeting a bit which bugged Sasuke, but he just ignored it.

"ARGH!" she suddenly screamed. "I can't stand it anymore!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes stoically. "Stop screaming. You're killing my eardrums."

Sakura scoffed. "Well, just looking at you hurts my eyes. I can't believe I have to be stuck with you all day!"

Ouch!

"Well, I guess all we have to do is just get along and that's it. When we actually do and get rid of these handcuffs, I'll be out of your life forever! So you don't have to worry about me in your life ever again," Sasuke said so coldly like he had many years ago that it made Sakura think about _that _memory.

She shook her head. "You're a liar."

"How do you know?" he countered.

"Because you can't live Konoha. You're forbidden to," she answered quietly.

Sasuke gave a dry chuckle. "I don't have to live Konoha to be out of your life. All I have to do is ignore you like I did before. Wouldn't that be nice?" Inwardly, he didn't really like it at all. But it'll make her life easier if he did.

Sakura didn't answer. She didn't want to remember that feeling of not having him with her anymore, but she didn't want to be hurt again either. So what would she do?

The people were now starting to gather at the arena to see the performance put on by the people. Right now it would be the talent shows of the different villages and later would be different groups singing.

The two of them sat completely silent thinking of each other's words and their thoughts. For a very long time, they didn't argue. Just wanting to enjoy each other's presence for as long as they can.

_Click!_

Sasuke and Sakura immediately looked at each other, curious and confused. Soon realization hit them as they gazed down at their wrists. The handcuffs came off. The silver chain slowly started to dissipate into silver dust and disappeared in the air. Sakura took her wrist into her hand and smiled while rubbing the sore area. Beside her, Sasuke stood up and didn't move. Eyes widening, Sakura lifted her face to see his. It was blank. There was no expression on it whatsoever. It was the same look he gave her four years ago. Sasuke nodded at her as if bidding a final farewell and jumped downwards towards the festival.

A lonely wind blew its way towards as it swayed the branches lightly, making them creak. The trees rustled softly while the leaves came off and flew away. The breeze made her pink locks whipped around her face, making her cold. Looking down at her wrists again, she suddenly felt lonelier than before. It was all quiet around her now without him here. She felt like she was going to break down, but she held strong. _'No, I won't cry anymore. I can't…I…I…' _Slowly sinking down onto the branch, Sakura let the tears free of their restraints. It's been such a long time she let herself break down like this. She promised herself that she wouldn't cry over Sasuke. She didn't even cry or run to him when he came back. So why is she crying now? _'It feels like I lost him again…'_

-o0o-

The arena was so crowded as everyone tried to find a good seat to see the performance down below. Of course, since a concert was going to held later, some people decided get to a front row seat by the stage; some even went to watch the show on the roofs. Those who were going to perform stood in the waiting area usually for fighters and the Ino, Shikamaru, and Hinata were setting it up, making sure everything worked perfect.

Being a shinobi of Konoha, Sasuke didn't have to go through the squished gates. Jumping over, he met up with Naruto and the others. "Oi! Dobe!" Sasuke called out nonchalantly.

Hearing the familiar voice and insult, Naruto turned and was about to fight Sasuke, but noticed that Sakura was not with him. He lifted a brow. "Hmm? Did you two finally got together? What happened to the handcuffs?"

"I don't know what happened. We got in another fight, but it was a different one," Sasuke said, but quickly hurried when he saw Naruto's expression. "But anyways, we didn't talk and the thing just broke."

Naruto looked appalled. "Really? So are you on good terms now?"

"No," he said flatly. "I said I'll just ignore her like I used to. I just want everything back to normal where we didn't associate at all. I won't even see her anymore." With that, he left Naruto and went to talk with Shino and them.

-o0o-

Naruto quickly ran up to Hinata, Ino, and Shikamaru, startling them with his desperate expression. Just when he was so close by, he tripped over a wire, dropping a speaker on himself.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata and the gang ran fast to the smashed Naruto.

As they helped the boy out, Ino instantly threw Naruto elsewhere like a sack of potatoes. "My poor baby! That moron didn't hurt you, did he?" She spoke to the speaker as if it was a child. Shikamaru only sweatdropped at his girlfriend's actions (sad! She loves the speaker more than him!).

"Hey! I just saw Sasuke and he wasn't with Sakura-chan!" he shouted as he regained his composure.

"NANI?!"

"Yeah! I think something bad happened, though," Naruto reported. "The teme wasn't his usual self."

Everybody looked at each other worriedly.

"Chotto matte!" Ino said. "Where's Sakura then? If Sasuke's here, where's she?"

"Hold on. I'll get Uchiha," Shikamaru said and then he left in the sea of people.

While waiting, Hinata glanced nervously between Ino and Naruto. But she wasn't as nervous as they both were. Ino was tapping her feet constantly and sighing every now and then. While Naruto was doing the whole nine yards! He was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself, and sweating.

Finally, Shikamaru came back with a serious look on his face. A minute later, the two blondes would have started to scream their heads off. "I've already talked to Uchiha and he said she was by Hokage Tower," he stated. "Now he and all of the other Jounin are looking for her right now. And until they find her, we have to stay here as to not alarm anyone."

"But..!" Naruto started until Shikamaru held up his hand in an authoritive manner.

"That was an order, Naruto," he instructed, leaving no room for argument.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Naruto restrained his frustration. "Hai."

"Good. I'm sure they'll find her, Ino" he said reassuringly. "For now let's just enjoy the show."

-o0o-

Dodging branch after branch, Sasuke, Neji, Kakashi, and Gai searched for the missing girl. The first place they went to was where he left and she wasn't there anymore. _'Damn it! Why did I have to leave?!' _Sasuke thought as he leapt through the trees. Some ten or fifteen minutes ago, Shikamaru came up to him and wanted to know where Sakura was. Well, when he told him, Shikamaru asked him if he was sure. He said he was, but then he started to doubt himself. Sasuke immediately went straight home to change out of his clothes and into his Jounin uniform. By the time he came back out, the older Jounin were there, saying they'd help him. So here they were and there is no Sakura to be found.

"Damn it!" Sasuke growled as he clenched his fists tighter.

Kakashi placed a comforting hand on Sasuke's shoulder before speaking. "Okay, Gai! You and Neji head back to the arena just to see if she might have gone there, and Sasuke and I will go by the Academy!" Kakashi ordered as the other two nodded. "If any of us finds her, just stay or go back to the arena. Got that?"

The Jounin nodded as Gai and Neji immediately leapt into the air back to the arena. When they were gone, Kakashi stood silently waiting for Sasuke to say something who was having an inner mind battle.

Blinking back into reality, Sasuke snapped his head to Kakashi angrily. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

Kakashi looked at Sasuke strangely for a moment, baffling the teen. Then he just shook his head and smiled reassuringly (or at least that's what it looked like anyway). "Let's just find Sakura, alright?"

So, the Copy Eye Ninja went straight to the Academy without waiting for Sasuke.

"Grr! Stupid old man!" yelled Sasuke as he went after his former sensei. When he caught up with the man, Sasuke glared at Kakashi.

Feigning innocence, Kakashi spoke, "Is something wrong Sasuke? You seem to be angry at something? Is it Sakura?"

Sasuke just narrowed his eyes at the man instead of answering. But when he heard a quiet chuckle coming from the older ninja, he looked curiously and annoyed at him. "What are you laughing about?"

Kakashi sighed contently about something. "Oh, it's nothing for you to worry about. Just old people thinking, that's all." He giggled, making Sasuke suspicious, but he let it slide.

"Whatever you say, old man," Sasuke replied. "I don't even want to know what you're thinking."

When they landed in the yard in front of the Academy, Sasuke was about to begin his search, but Kakashi stopped him. Yanking his arm away, the young Uchiha stared at the man, feeling incredulous.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he demanded. "We have to look for her! She could be anywhere!"

But then something changed. Kakashi was looking at Sasuke so angrily, he was taken aback. "You should know where she is, Sasuke. Of all the places she would be, where do you think she would go?"

Sasuke back up and blinked, surprise. _'How the hell would I know where she…would…go…' _He looked at Kakashi with a look of realization on his face before he leapt away.

Kakashi watched as Sasuke flew away and out of sight, before eying a certain shadowed area next to the wall of the Academy. "You can come out now," he said softly. "Sakura."

And lo and behold, the missing pink-haired kunoichi stepped out of the darkness into the moonlight. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei," she greeted nervously. "Guess you caught me, huh?"

"Do you know how much trouble you caused?" he reprimanded. "Especially for Sasuke?"

Sakura winced and nodded. Then she just dropped herself to the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees, feeling like crap.

Kakashi walked over to his only female student and stood beside her, staring at the bright full moon. "Is it true?" he asked cryptically.

"What?" she mumbled.

"That you hate Valentine's Day?" He looked down at her and was reminded of how she looked when she was depressed about Sasuke's betrayal.

"Yeah. How'd you know?" she was curious now.

Her sensei shrugged his shoulders. "A little birdie told me," he said, amused.

The girl glared at the man (he's getting glared a lot today). "And was that little birdie Shishou?"

He smiled. "So do you want to tell me why? Did you ever give any chocolate to Sasuke when you were younger?"

Sakura looked at him as if he was on drugs. "Are you crazy?! Knowing Sasuke back then, he'd probably burn them. He probably still does!"

"Well, so why didn't you like it?" Kakashi questioned again.

She seemed to think about this for a while before answering. "I guess I didn't think that was a way to show how you care for that person. I mean I did ask him a lot when I was a child, but you can't blame me. I was only a kid. So what do I know, right?" She chuckled with no humor at all as Kakashi stared intently at his student.

_'You've really grown, Sakura,' _he thought, reminiscing over the times when she would try to get Sasuke's attention. It wasn't like that now.

"But…," she continued. "I also felt I had no right to be with Sasuke because we were so different. He's an Uchiha, a powerful clan in Konoha while I'm just a girl with no talent at all. I was scared."

"You're not like that anymore," Kakashi countered.

She scoffed. "Yeah, well back then, I was always bullied because I had a big forehead,"—she touched it as if remembering the pain—"and when Ino found me, she helped me be more confident. Even so, I still doubted myself no matter how hard I try. I couldn't even stop him when he left four years ago. I just suck!"

Kakashi crouched down beside his student and placed reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You don't suck, trust me," he said with a smile. "I have trained you, seen you grow each day, and even saw you become the Godaime's apprentice. You're the strongest kunoichi in Konoha, Sakura. So listen to me just this once, you're the most wonderful student I've had. I'm proud of what you've become."

That was the first time she ever heard her sensei say that to her. He was proud of her. Her. The girl who started out with no talent whatsoever, besides her brain. She worked hard and became one of the top shinobi in the village. She never felt so thankful of him before.

Sakura gave a bright smile in appreciation. "Thanks sensei."

"Sure," he answered. "But I have a question. Why do you act like you hate Sasuke? You even ignored him when he came back. Why?"

"I was afraid that if I saw his face again, all the pain will come back," Sakura said quietly.

"You know he's trying, right?" Kakashi spoke. "He's trying for you."

"What?" She looked at him shocked.

The man nodded. "Yep, he's trying to change so that you'll talk to him again. But you can apologize to him when we get back to the arena."

-o0o-

Sasuke was at the bench and saw no one there. Feeling all hope has left him, Sasuke sat on it depressed. _'So this was what Sakura probably felt when I left,' _he thought. _'Naruto's right. I am a bastard.'_

He was about to leave when he heard Kakashi's voice in the ear piece. Then he heard another voice that he recognized. It was Sakura's voice. Sasuke was going to go back when he heard Kakashi reprimanding Sakura. It was quiet for a moment until Kakashi spoke again.

_"Is it true?" _Sasuke heard, his brows knitting in confusion. So he sat back on the bench and heard every word of the conversation between Kakashi and Sakura. _'Wait, that's why she was avoiding me? Because of the pain? ARGH!' _he screamed in his head. But then he heard Kakashi saying that they were going to go back to the arena, so he immediately did a hand sign and poofed back to the concert thingy or whatever!

-o0o-

Neji stood next to his sensei, with arms crossed. "Do you think it was a good idea to leave?" he asked.

"Oh! They'll be fine!" Gai said jovially. "There they are!" He pointed by the stage in the back where Kakashi and Sakura just arrived.

_Poof!_

_Poof!_

Kakashi appeared beside Gai while Sasuke next Neji with a scowl on his face. The silver-haired man turned to Sasuke with a suspiciously bright smile. "Oh! Sasuke, you're just on time!"

Sasuke and Neji both lifted a brow in confusion and stared at each other. They shrugged and just stared at the stage, waiting for the last performance to start.

-o0o-

"Ahh! What the hell are you doing Ino?!" Sakura screamed as she tried to cover herself as Ino stripped her of her kimono and into a black halter top just leaving her net shirt on for style; a mid-thigh length flowing skirt; and dark brown leather boots that were flat on bottom. Sakura twitched at the outfit she wore. She never really wore anything like this—she's really modest. "Ino, why am I dressed I like this?"

"Well, you're going to perform in front of the crowd since one person got sick and can't do it anymore! And this is also your punishment for disappearing you twit!" Ino answered hastily. "There! Perfect!" she shouted in joy. "Now get out there!"

Before she pushed Sakura out onto the stage, she whispered, "By the way, you should recognize this song. It's yours! Now go!" She shoved her best friend on the stage and the crowd instantly cheered.

Sasuke was in the middle of drinking his soda when he saw Sakura and choked, spitting all over Naruto who was next to him (ew…).

"Dude! What the fuck?!" Naruto stood and waved his hands to get rid of the sticky liquid (haha! Sticky liquid). "That's fuckin sick!"

He turned angrily at the gang. "What the hell is she doing out there?!" He turned back to the stage and watched her moved shyly to the center. But he's gotta admit she was really pretty with all the lights glowing on her.

"And last the song will be performed by one of our own people: HARUNO SAKURA!" Tsunade announced loudly to get the crowds more excited. "The song she's going to performed is one she made herself, 'Colors.'" The woman screamed and ran back to Sakura who was glaring at her.

"You planned this all along, didn't you?!" she demanded, but Tsunade just shrugged.

"The song's starting," she warned and stood back stage.

Before the song started, she remembered the title of it. She sang it for Ino once when they were twelve. The song was somewhat related to the time when she was comparing her meeting with Sasuke as colors. It was written when Sasuke had already left.

"Um, I would like to dedicate this song to an old friend of mine," She said as the song began and then the beat slowed to where she had to sing.

_Miraa ga utsushidasu _

_Maboroshi o_

_Kinishinagara itsu no manika _

_Sokudo ageteru no so_

_Doku e itte mo ii to_

_Ii wareruto_

_Hanpa no ganmou niwa hyoushiki_

_Mosen bu haiiro da_

_Honou no yurameki koyoi mo yume o egaku_

_Anata no fudesaki kawaite imasen ka_

_Chorus:_

_Aoi sora ga mieru nara aoi kasa hirogete_

_Iijanai ka kyanbasu wa kimi no mono_

_Shiroi hata wa akirameta tokini dake kazasu no_

_Ima wa makkani sasou tougyuushi no you ni_

_Kaara mo iro aseru _

_Keikou tou no moto_

_Shirokuro no chesuboodo_

_No ue de kimi ni deatta_

_Bokura wa hitotoki mayoi nagara yorisoutte_

_Are kara hitotsuki oboete imasuka_

_Chorus:_

_Orenji iro no yuuhi o tonari de miteru dake de_

_Yokatta no ni na kuchi wa wazawai no moto_

_Kuroi fuku wa shisha ni inoru toki ni dake kiru no_

_Wazato makka ni nokoshita Ruuju no ato_

_Mou jibun ni wa yume no nai eshika egakenai to iu nara_

_Nuritsubushite yo kyanbasu o nando demo_

_Shiroi hata wa akirameta toki ni dake kazasu no_

_Ima no watashi wa anata no shiranai iro_

Then the song just kept playing until it reached the end. The crowd roared in excitement as Sakura waved and blushed. Ino came running out and tackled her to the ground, hugging her.

"That was amazing!" she squealed, hugging Sakura tighter. "Now everybody knows you can sing!"

"I-Ino…air…I…n-need…AIR!" Sakura managed to say.

Ino let go instantly as color returned to her friend's face. Sakura stood up and dusted herself and glared at Ino. The blonde stuck her out tongue and ran off to the others who were slowly approaching.

"Wow! I didn't know you could sing Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted, making his way towards her. "That was great!"

"Yeah! How come you didn't tell us you're musical?!" Tenten added.

"Well, I thought you guys would just tell it'd be a waste of time," she shrugged. "Besides, I still wanted to be a shinobi that time anyways."

"And they say you have no talent! HA!" Kiba shouted, earning a glare from the girl.

Ino came with Shikamaru with her arms linked in his. "So, Sakura," she said slyly, sliding next to her. "Who was that song dedicated to do? Hmm?"

Sakura turned away blushing. "Like I'd tell you!"

"Oh, come on!" Ino whined.

"NO!"

Ino pouted and turned away until she saw Sasuke coming this way. "Hey, Sasuke! DID YOU SEE?! DID YOU SEE?!"

Sasuke suddenly started to hit his ear with his palm, and stared wide-eyed at Naruto. "DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?!" he screamed loudly. "I THINK INO BUSTED MY EARDRUMS!!"

"ALRIGHT! I GET THE POINT!" Naruto screamed back, rubbing his own ears.

"HUH?!"

Naruto glared at the guy and turned away from him and then glared at Ino. "It's all your fault he's deaf now, idiot!"

Ino backed up. "Sorry!"

Sakura laughed at her friends' behaviors and glanced at Sasuke. She blushed lightly and looked away, while slowly walking away from the gang. Sasuke noticed and wanted to go after her, but decided not to. He looked at the sky and sighed. _'Some day this turned to be.'_

-o0o-

A couple of days later, Sakura was the first to arrive at the bridge this time as she stood waiting for her team to arrive. After the festival, everything went back to 'normal' like Sasuke said it would. She dropped her head now starting to feel like what she was about to do was a bad idea.

Footsteps were heard approaching the bridge when Sakura lifted her face to see who the person was. It was Sasuke. He stopped in mid-step, surprised to see Sakura here first. Slowly, he moved towards her and stood on the opposite side. Doing what he usually did, he leaned on the rail and crossed his arms while closing his eyes. It was quiet for a long while. Sasuke noticed it. Though he didn't say anything, he knew there was something strange with Sakura today. He glanced at her with one eye opened when he heard her move a little. She was pacing and kept on feeling something in her pocket, but kept shaking her head.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" he asked.

She stopped and stared wide-eyed at him. "You haven't called me that since you got back," she said quietly.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "So are you?"

"Um, y-yeah," she answered and it became quiet again.

"Sakura—," he started until she shoved a piece of chocolate to his mouth. It was only halfway in when he stopped her hand.

Sakura lowered her head as she stammered, "Here. A chocolate for you," she said as a dark shade of blush covered her face.

Sasuke blinked, but then started to eat the piece of candy that she 'gave'. Sakura gawk, with her mouth gaping wide. "It's not nice to gawk Sakura," he smirked.

"Shut up! Besides, you should be happy that you're actually the first boy I gave chocolate to!" she stated.

Sasuke lifted a brow in skepticism. "Really?" she nodded. "So who was that song dedicated to?"

"You know," she whispered, feeling her face get hot.

Sasuke cupped her cheek, making her face him. "No, I don't," he whispered huskily. "Why don't you tell me."

His eyes were so mesmerizing she thought she was going to die. But Sakura shook her head to clear her mind and glared at Sasuke. "You already know so there's no use."

"But I want to hear it from you, Sakura," he said, but she still refused. Then he leaned his head on her shoulder, startling her. "I'm sorry I hurt you." His breath tickled the skin of her neck as she shivered.

Now she felt guilty coming up on her as she held him closer to her. "That song was for you," she whispered. "And I'm sorry, too."

"Thank you," he said gratefully. But then, suddenly Sakura pulled him back to look him straight in the eye.

"You don't have to change, you know," she said sternly while pouting. "I love you just the way you are."

A smirk slowly started to form on his face at her comment. He leaned in by her ear, sending shivers down her back as he whispered seductively, "Then, do you want to have another marker fight with me?" Sakura giggled at the comment while he started pulling her to his house.

In that tree next to the bridge was a certain man and teen spying on the new couple. Kakashi sighed and smirked, "Teens these days."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "You said it, but mission accomplished." Kakashi chuckled until Naruto looked curiously at him. "But what do they mean 'marker fight'?"

Kakashi just stared pitifully at him. _'Poor boy doesn't know the meaning of fun...'

* * *

_

LIKE OR HATE? I hate it because of VD. But you know I just realized Singles Awareness Day spelled SAD! I love being single! There's nothing wrong with it! Right, guys? Singles rock! 

Because it's not like I don't have a life, I just don't like high school drama!

Review or I won't update Forget-Me-Not!


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